Health insurance for young adults and students: an overview

Health insurance between 19 and 25: what changes

At 18 you do not need to take out new health insurance: your basic health insurance continues with your current insurer, at the children’s premium until the end of the year. The only change is who pays: until the end of the month in which you come of age, your parents owe the premiums, and after that you do (Art. 61a para. 1 of the Federal Health Insurance Act, KVG). From 1 January of the year in which you turn 19, you belong to the young adults, and you stay in that group until the end of the year in which you turn 25. What counts is your year of birth, not your birthday (Art. 16a para. 1 KVG, Art. 91 para. 3 KVV).

The age group mainly determines your premium. Insurers must set a lower premium for young adults than for adults, but a higher one than for children (Art. 61 para. 3 KVG). For co-payments, on the other hand, the adult rules already apply from 19: a standard deductible (Franchise) of CHF 300, optional up to CHF 2,500, plus a 10 % retention fee (Selbstbehalt) of no more than CHF 700 a year (Art. 93 and 103 para. 1 KVV).

These are the years in which you make the decisions that shape your premium for years to come: your first own deductible, your first insurance model, your first salary with accident insurance through your employer, perhaps studies on a small income or a year abroad. The table shows what applies when.

The following sections answer the six questions young adults ask most often. Each section gives the answer in its first paragraph and points to the article that covers the topic in depth, with steps, examples and special cases.

What does health insurance cost at 19 and at 26?

At 19 your premium rises considerably, and at 26 it rises again. In the municipality of Zurich, the median monthly premium in 2026 was CHF 146.80 for a child with a CHF 0 deductible, CHF 446.10 for young adults with a CHF 300 deductible and CHF 580.00 for adults with the same deductible. The move into the next age group always happens on 1 January.

Age group (year of birth)	Deductible	lowest	median	highest
Child (2008)	CHF 0	CHF 120.30	CHF 146.80	CHF 185.70
Young adults (2005)	CHF 300	CHF 371.20	CHF 446.10	CHF 591.00
Young adults (2005)	CHF 2,500	CHF 242.90	CHF 318.80	CHF 466.90
Adults (1992)	CHF 300	CHF 517.70	CHF 580.00	CHF 724.00
Adults (1992)	CHF 2,500	CHF 389.40	CHF 453.90	CHF 595.70

Two things stand out in the table. First, for young adults with a CHF 300 deductible in the same municipality, there is a gap of CHF 219.80 a month between the cheapest and the most expensive offer, even though the benefits of basic health insurance are the same with every insurer. Second, the deductible has a strong effect for young adults: the median with CHF 2,500 is CHF 127.30 below the median with CHF 300.

Your insurer may set a new premium every year, and you can switch every year. When the jumps at 19 and 26 come, how to plan for them in advance and what changes in your co-payments is shown in the article At 19 and at 26: how your premium changes. You can find the premiums for your municipality and year of birth in the premium calculator. The FOPH publishes next year’s premiums at the end of September.

Your first own health insurance: what you decide yourself from 18

Your existing basic health insurance continues at 18, but from the month after your 18th birthday you owe the premium and co-payments yourself. For premiums from the period before that, neither the insurer nor its debt collection agencies can ever pursue you; they are solely your parents’ responsibility (Art. 61a para. 1 KVG). As an adult, you can change your deductible, choose a different insurance model, exclude accident cover or switch insurer without your parents having to sign.

Parents often insured you as a child with a CHF 0 deductible in the standard model. From 19 there is no CHF 0 deductible any more: the lowest level is then the standard deductible of CHF 300 (Art. 103 para. 1 KVV). Which level your insurer assigns you from 19 is stated in its letter with the new premium; check it. That is why, in the autumn before the year in which you turn 19, it pays to look at three settings:

1. Deductible: CHF 300 to CHF 2,500. A higher deductible lowers the premium, but you bear more of the costs yourself. How the break-even point is calculated is shown in the example below.
2. Insurance model: GP, HMO and telemedicine models are cheaper than the standard model, but require you to contact a specific first point of contact first. The rules are explained on the page on special types of insurance.
3. Insurer: the benefits of basic health insurance are the same everywhere, the premiums are not. You can switch every year.

If you want to switch, you need to know the deadlines. After you have been notified of the new premium, you can cancel with one month’s notice to the end of the year (Art. 7 para. 2 KVG); your notice of cancellation must reach the insurer by 30 November. You can choose a higher deductible for the new year until 31 December, and a lower one only within the cancellation deadlines, i.e. by 30 November (Art. 94 KVV). The dates in detail are under deadlines for switching.

One special point concerns supplementary insurance from your childhood: there, your parents are often the policyholders, and only the policyholder may cancel in the ordinary way (Art. 35a para. 4 of the Insurance Contract Act, ICA). Whether the contract passes to you is governed by the insurer’s general terms and conditions (AVB). The step-by-step process, the rules from 18 in detail and the special cases are explained in the article Your first own health insurance; the model finder helps you work out which insurance model suits your everyday life.

Example calculation: CHF 300 or CHF 2,500 deductible?

Example with fictitious persons. Nina, born in 2005, lives in Zurich and compares the median offers from the table above.

The calculation only shows where the break-even point lies; it is not a recommendation for your situation. Only you have a rough idea of how high your costs will be next year. You can run the figures with your municipality’s premiums and your own costs in the deductible calculator.

Studies: is there cheaper health insurance for students?

Basic health insurance has no student discount. The premium depends on insurer, municipality, age group, deductible and model, not on whether you study or work. The law does, however, give young adults in education relief in two places: the hospital contribution and the premium subsidy.

No hospital contribution. In addition to the deductible and retention fee, adults pay CHF 15 per day towards the cost of a hospital stay. Young adults in education are exempt, as are children (Art. 104 para. 1 and 2 KVV). Tell your insurer that you are in education; it will tell you what proof it requires.

A premium subsidy of at least 50 %. For lower and middle incomes, the canton must reduce the premium of young adults in education by at least 50 % (Art. 65 para. 1bis KVG). What counts as a lower or middle income, whether your parents’ income is included and the deadline for your application are set by each canton. The money goes directly to your insurer, and your premium bill gets smaller. For many students, the premium subsidy is the biggest lever.

Exemption only for foreign students. If you come to Switzerland for your education and have equivalent foreign insurance, you can apply to be exempted from compulsory health insurance, for a maximum of 3 years with an extension of no more than 3 further years (Art. 2 para. 4 KVV). This exception does not exist for students resident in Switzerland.

How students choose their deductible, when switching pays off and how to apply for a premium subsidy is covered in depth in the article Health insurance for students.

Apprenticeship and first job: do you still need accident cover?

Not necessarily. If you work at least 8 hours a week for one employer, you are insured through your employer against occupational and non-occupational accidents under the Accident Insurance Act (Art. 13 para. 1 UVV). You can then exclude accident cover from your health insurance. The premium falls by the accident portion, by a maximum of 7 % (Art. 91a para. 4 KVV).

You apply for the suspension in writing; it takes effect at the earliest from the first day of the following month (Art. 11 para. 1 KVV). The end is what matters: when your apprenticeship ends, you change jobs or you work less than 8 hours a week, your accident cover through the employer ends. Cover for non-occupational accidents continues until the 31st day after your entitlement to salary ends. After that, accidents are automatically covered by your health insurer again; you must, however, tell your insurer within one month that your UVG cover has ended (Art. 11 para. 2 KVV). Incidentally, for accidents insured through your employer you pay no deductible and no retention fee. Whether excluding accident cover pays off for you is calculated by the accident cover calculator:

With your first employment contract comes something else that has nothing to do with health insurance: pay during illness. Basic health insurance only pays for treatment, not for lost earnings. Unless otherwise agreed, your employer pays your salary during illness for at least three weeks in the first year of service, if the employment has lasted more than three months or was entered into for more than three months (Art. 324a of the Code of Obligations, CO). Many companies have daily sickness allowance insurance for this; ask your employer what your contract says.

What else apprentices and young people starting work should bear in mind, for example with salary deductions and the move from apprenticeship to a first job, is explained in the article Apprenticeship and first job.

Year abroad and language stay: stay insured or deregister?

That depends on whether you keep your residence in Switzerland. If you go away for a language stay or a year abroad but do not move your residence, you remain subject to compulsory basic health insurance and keep paying the premium, according to the FOPH even after deregistering with your municipality; it cannot then be cancelled or suspended. Only when you move your residence abroad does the requirement to take out insurance end on departure, with no notice period.

If you stay insured, basic health insurance only covers emergencies abroad during a temporary stay (Art. 36 para. 2 KVV). In the EU, EFTA and the United Kingdom, the European Health Insurance Card on the back of your health insurance card helps. Outside these countries, basic health insurance pays no more than twice the amount that would be reimbursed in Switzerland (Art. 36 para. 4 KVV), and for hospital care, according to the FOPH, no more than 90 % of the Swiss costs. It does not pay for rescue and repatriation from abroad (Art. 27 KLV). For stays outside the EU, the FOPH recommends travel insurance.

Which option suits an au pair stay, a language stay or work and travel, and what applies when you return, is covered in depth in the article Year abroad and language stay. When you return, you must take out insurance again within 3 months.

Common mistakes

• Missing the jump at 19. The young adult premium applies from 1 January of the year in which you turn 19. If you do not read the premium notification the autumn before, you miss the 30 November deadline for switching.
• Studying without applying for a premium subsidy. The entitlement to a subsidy of at least 50 % only applies on lower and middle incomes and, in many cantons, only on application within a deadline. If you do not ask, you give money away.
• Accident cover excluded, job ended, insurer not informed. When cover through your employer ends, you must report it to your insurer. The insurer then charges the accident premium again.
• Going abroad with residence in Switzerland and assuming basic health insurance is enough. Abroad it only pays for emergencies and does not pay for repatriation.

Where to start?

1. Check your premium: use the premium calculator to see what your basic health insurance will cost next year and what other insurers charge for the same benefits. For the years in which your age group changes, the children’s premium calculator helps.
2. Calculate your deductible: estimate your healthcare costs and compare the levels in the deductible calculator.
3. Clarify the subsidy: if you are in education or earn little, check your entitlement to a premium subsidy in your canton.
4. Adjust your accident cover: if you work at least 8 hours a week for one employer, check whether to exclude accident cover.
5. Note the deadlines: your notice of cancellation for basic health insurance must reach the insurer by 30 November, and a higher deductible can be chosen until 31 December. All dates are under deadlines, and you can create the letter with the sample cancellation letter.

All insurers with key figures are listed in the overview of health insurers. Further topics on premiums and deductibles are in the guide.